


Earthbound

by Ratin8tor



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-30
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-16 09:54:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29080449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ratin8tor/pseuds/Ratin8tor
Summary: The Doctor and Yaz are left stranded on Earth after the TARDIS is mysteriously hi-jacked from them. They must now live day to day in 2021, and protect the world from any threats that mean to harm it, as they search for a way to resume their travels.'Earthbound' is an experimental series set in real time, where one week in the real world results in one week within the story. It is also an exercise of off-the-cuff, on the day writing with no plan or structure. Look at this as an experiment rather than a structured piece of writing, to see if it can be done.
Kudos: 7





	1. 2021 – 01 – 30

Yaz walked around the familiar console room, bathed in the orange light. The other console room, the house on Earth, she’d occupied for ten months. But this one... this felt like home?  
“Doctor?” she asked, turning to her alien companion. The Doctor looked up at her.  
“Mmm?” the Doctor asked, more concerned with some instrument attached to the TARDIS.  
“Have there been others?” Yaz inquired.  
“Others?” the Doctor responded, still not giving much attention to her companion.  
“Others that have travelled with you, like I have.”  
“Oh quite a few,” the Doctor said, still not giving Yaz her full attention. “Quick question, have you ever been the Pufleh-”  
“Did any of them have to wait?”  
The Doctor’s hand froze over the custard cream she was about to grab. Slowly the hand moved back onto the console, as the Doctor glanced up.  
“Occasionally,” the Doctor said, trying to appear non-committal. “That’s the thing with time travel, it’s not as precise as people think it is. The constant shifting and moving and-”  
“Did you apologize to them?”  
The Doctor paused, wondering whether now was a good time to bring up the majestic nature of the Ekkoian spires, and how they were well worth a visit.  
“Did you tell them that you were sorry?” pressed Yaz, not letting her friend duck out again. “Did you try to amends.”  
“Yaz-” began the Doctor.  
“Because you certainly haven’t with us. Oh sure, you come swooping in to save the day, act like the hero, stop the evil Daleks. But all that time I was waiting.”  
“I’m sorry,” the Doctor said instinctively. After this many lifetimes, it was amazing how quickly it rolled off the tongue. Her tenth incarnation was particularly guilty of it, but it was no shock that the Doctor found herself falling into the same bad habits.  
“Are you?” Yaz countered. “Because it doesn’t sound sincere. Most people, they’d apologize, try to make amends, see how the other person was. But you...”  
“If I could have come back right away I would have,” the Doctor said, moving closer to her companion. “But there are some laws of time that even I can’t break-”  
“That’s not what I’m asking for,” snapped Yaz. “I don’t care that you came back ten months later... I care that you don’t seem to. Care, that is.” She shook her head furiously, moving away from her approaching friend.  
“Ten months I spent in that TARDIS,” Yaz continued, back to the Doctor. “Ten months trying to decode the message you left for us, solve the puzzle that you programmed into the ship. Ten months of wondering whether I was smart enough, clever enough for you. Ten months of having that being proven wrong.”  
“I didn’t leave any clues,” the Doctor countered. “I didn’t have time. The Judoon arrested me too quickly, imprisoned me.”  
“But that’s okay,” Yaz said, ignoring the alien. “That’s okay, is what I said to myself. Because the Doctor would be back. They always came back. And they’d do anything to gain forgiveness. They’d do anything to try and fix what went wrong. But then you came back, and then Graham and Ryan left, and you...”  
“Yaz,” the Doctor said firmly, grabbing her friend by the arm and spinning her around. Yaz stared at her friend, seeing the tears in the Doctor’s eyes.  
“You know what got me through those nineteen years in prison?” the Doctor said. “You know what kept me going? My fam. Thinking how I abandoned you, deserted you, when you needed me the most. Every day you were in my thoughts, every day you gave me the strength to keep fighting back.”  
The Doctor suddenly pulled Yaz into a hug, squeezing her tightly.  
“I haven’t apologized because I owe you too much. Without you, I don’t think I’d have been able to handle imprisonment. But more than that...”  
The Doctor pulled out of the hug, looking Yaz in the eye.  
“I’ve seen so many of you leave. So many of you disappear. And it hurts every time. So I got use to pushing the pain down. To burying it, locking it away. But it never occurred to me that you’d feel this same pain. That you’d understand how I feel.”  
“Doctor,” whispered Yaz.  
“I’m sorry Yaz,” the Doctor said, hugging her companion again. “I can’t promise I’ll never abandon you again. But I promise I’ll never do it on purpose. Can you say the same?”  
“Of course,” Yaz replied, tears in her eyes. “I’m never going to leave you Doctor.”  
The Doctor stepped back, looking at her companion. It was a lie, of course. Yaz would eventually leave, if only because her life was so short. So many of the Time Lord’s previous companions had made that promise, and none of them had been able to keep it. But that was the curse of being a traveller. Best to make the best of the moment now.  
“Anyway,” Yaz said, wiping her tears away. “You said something about Pufleh?”  
“Oh of course,” the Doctor said, back to her bubbling, happy self. “Beautiful planet, green oceans and blue grass. The gravity’s so light you could jump off a cliff and have you tea time finished before you hit the ground.”  
“That sounds great,” said Yaz, joining the Doctor at the central console. “Shall we?” she asked, placing her hand on the main lever. The Doctor smiled a reply, placing her hand on top of Yaz, and pulled.  
Two friends, travelling the universe. Forever how long it’ll last.

_“We have it,” a voice said to another, looking for confirmation. A nod of agreement. Buttons were pushed, as the control panel in front of them lit up._

Sparks flew from the TARDIS as it lurched violently to the side, throwing the two women off-balance. The Doctor scrambled back to the console, trying to read the instructions.  
“What’s going on?” Yaz asked, getting back to her feet.  
“Someone’s trying to hi-jack the TARDIS,” the Doctor said. “Override the safeties. That shouldn’t be possible.”  
“How can someone hi-jack the TARDIS?” Yaz asked in disbelief.  
“Don’t know,” admitted the Doctor. “Seems like the most likely explanation for,” she waved her hand at the central console, which had started to glow a deep crimson red. Steam suddenly erupted from around them, smothering the console room.  
“I need to get you out of here,” the Doctor said, struggling to land the TARDIS.  
“What about you?” Yaz countered, as the steam turned to smoke.  
“I’ll be fine,” lied the Doctor, the boldface claim earning a sceptical look from Yaz.  
Before Yaz could call out the Doctor’s falsehood the TARDIS lurched again, sending both women hurtling towards the door.  
“Doctor!” cried Yaz, as she desperately hung onto a railing as the TARDIS doors flapped open. The ground was a dizzyingly long distance away, and she knew that a drop from this height would be the last thing she ever did.  
“Come on old girl,” the Doctor said, as she tried to get the ship under control. “I could survive that fall, but not Yaz.”  
Yaz felt her palms getting sweaty from all the steam, as she slowly lost her grip on the hand rail. She fell a few feet, before suddenly stopping with a sudden jolt, her bottom half hanging outside the safety of the TARDIS.  
Yaz looked up to see the Doctor holding her in one hand, the other gripping the handrail. Behind her the console burned, flames licking the central console.  
“The TARDIS,” began Yaz, but the Doctor shook her head, trying to pull her companion back to safety. Yaz risked a glance at the ground, which was a lot closer than before. The TARDIS was falling towards the ground, and yet it didn’t feel like they were falling inside of it.  
The Doctor had almost pulled Yaz to safety when there was a sudden jolt, causing the Doctor to lose her grip on the handrail and fall forward into Yaz. Both of them tumbled out of the TARDIS and onto the soft grass a few metres below them.  
Painfully the two of them struggled to their feet, looking up to see the TARDIS flying back upwards. The Doctor rummaged her pockets for her sonic screwdriver, in a desperate attempt to do something, anything. But it was too late. The TARDIS...  
“What the-” began Yaz, watching as the TARDIS seemed to be making itself longer and wider.  
“The poor girl, she’s trying to get away from the hi-jacker,” said the Doctor as she watched, tears forming in her eyes. “Trying to go in seventy-two directions at once.”  
“What are we going to do?” Yaz asked, but the Doctor ignored her, watching the TARDIS struggle and heave. A familiar wheeze filled the air, but it sounded like a painful last gasp of an animal trapped in a snare. Then suddenly-  
“Where it go?” Yaz asked. One moment the TARDIS was there, growing ever bigger, phasing in and out like it was taking off, and the next moment...  
“It’s gone,” the Doctor said. “The TARDIS is gone.”  
“Yes, but where?” asked Yaz.  
The Doctor said nothing, falling to her knees, still looking up at the blue sky, almost as if she was trying to will her ship back to her.  
“Doctor, where is the TARDIS?”  
The sonic screwdriver fell out of the Doctor’s hand as tears welled up in her eyes. Her oldest companion...  
“Doctor-” repeated Yaz.  
“Gone,” the Doctor said simply.  
“Gone?” replied Yaz, confused.  
“The TARDIS is gone,” said the Doctor. “I don’t know where, I don’t know when, I don’t know if it escaped or was captured. The TARDIS is... gone.”  
“Right, okay,” Yaz said, trying to get a handle on the situation. “Can we track it? Can we find it? You’ve done it before, when we first met? What do we need to do? What equipment do we need? When and where are we?”  
Her friend said nothing, her eyes now looking at the ground. Tears were streaking down her face, as she struggled to keep her emotions to herself.  
“Doctor,” Yaz said, going to comfort her friend. That was what broke the dam. The Doctor, having gone through so much, from prison to the breaking of her fam to losing her TARDIS, couldn’t help herself. Yaz held her friend as the Doctor, this seeming titan, cried into her shoulder.  
“I’m sorry,” the Doctor said after a while, trying to pull herself together. “I’m sorry Yaz. But I don’t think I’m going to be able to find the TARDIS. I think we’re trapped here. Forever.”


	2. 2021 - 02 - 06

2021 – 02 – 06

It had certainly been an eventful week, one that Yaz was glad to see the end of.

They had ended up in a somewhat remote part of China of all places, and it had taken them a few days to just get to civilization. Add to that the travel expenses the Doctor swore she’d pay Yaz back for, and they finally reached their destination.

“But why New Zealand?” Yaz asked yet again, still not quite believing what had occurred.

“Because we can’t go to England,” the Doctor replied.

“Why not?”

“Because one of my other selves is currently stranded and is using my usual house. Last thing I want to do is deal with me in times like this.”

“Okay, but why Auckland?”

“Because that’s where I keep the summer home,” the Doctor replied, as if it was obvious. “Anyway, we’re here.”

The two of them stood in front of what could, by all definitions of the word, a house. It was remarkable in how entirely unremarkable it was. It was just a simple, ordinary, one-story house in the middle of a perfectly standard suburban street.

“This is your summer house?” Yaz asked.

“What did you expect?” the Doctor replied in confusion.

“I dunno,” Yaz admitted. “It just seems so... ordinary. Why do you even have a house?”

“Yaz, do you have any idea how often I seem to visit Earth,” the Doctor said. “It only made sense to have a few properties on stand-by, in case any of my friends want to take a rest, or if I need somewhere peaceful to work. Besides, I don’t always choose to come here, I swear the TARDIS...” The Doctor trailed off, looking wistful. Yaz recognized the look and decided to quickly change the subject.

“Let’s go inside, shall we?” Yaz replied, gently guiding the Doctor to the door. A few minutes of pocket rummaging later, the Doctor had pulled out a key and opened the door to...

Despite having travelled in the TARDIS for so long and thus had gotten use to how the whole ‘transdimensional’ aspect worked, seeing it replicated again was still an experience that required hard proof.

“It’s bigger on the inside,” Yaz said, causing the Doctor to smirk.

“Well of course,” the Doctor said. “I’m hardly going to live in just a two-bedroom now, am I? There’s enough in my pockets to fill out one and a half rooms to begin with.”

The interior of the house was odd. It was like a Gothic castle, of sorts. Large stone pillars holding up a roof that stretched far, far out of sight, dwarfing the random assortment of furniture that littered the living room. There were several staircases leading both up and down, implying a geometry that just wasn’t congruous with the outside of the building.

The Doctor was unfazed, taking off her jacket and throwing it on a coat hook, making her way to a workbench. She had her sonic screwdriver out, tapping into it with various instruments.

“In theory the sonic and the TARDIS are connected,” the Doctor said, back to Yaz. “If I run a reverse scan on the core crystal, we might have some way of locating the ship.”

“This is just...” said Yaz, trying to figure out what she was looking at. The second TARDIS, the one that had brought her home, was similar in some ways to this, but this was something else.

“Pull up a chair,” the Doctor said, waving towards a giant fireplace. The first burst into life, the light obscured by two large, ornate armchairs. “I’ll have Jeeves get you some lunch.”

“Jeeves?” Yaz asked in confusion.

“You rang,” said a man’s voice, just from behind her. Yaz jumped out of her skin, turning round to see a butler standing behind her.

“Where did you come from,” Yaz asked, scurrying to the Doctor’s side.

“I ‘came’ with the house ma’am,” Jeeves said, his posh British accent accentuating every syllable of the word ‘ma’am’ the way only the truly posh can.

“But,” Yaz said, before trailing off, not entirely sure what the appropriate question was. Instead she leaned back on the bench, not taking her eyes off the strange man, while trying to get the Doctor’s attention.

“Who is he?” Yaz hissed, eyes flicking between the butler and her friend.

“Jeeves,” the Doctor said, as if that answered everything. “The butler,” she added, somewhat unnecessary in her opinion since the man behind her clearly wore the clothing of one.

“Why is he here?”

“To serve people. That’s what butlers do.”

“But he appeared out of nowhere!”

“Sign of a true butler, that. Never see them until you need them, while they make sure not to get in the way.”

“Doctor,” Yaz said, taking her eyes off the butler and focusing solely on her friend. “You’re going to need to explain it in a lot more detail. The TARDIS can wait.”

“But if I don’t act soon I might lose the signal,” protested the Doctor, but Yaz had known her friend long enough to spot a lie when she heard it.

“Doctor, stop trying to get rid of me,” Yaz said. “You tried to get me on a plane back to England, and you’ve spent our entire trip here trying to convince me to leave you. I’m not going anyway.”

“I’m not trying to get rid of you. I’m trying to protect you.”

“From what?”

The Doctor said nothing, putting the screwdriver down.

“From what?” repeated Yaz. “We’ve faced Daleks, Cybermen, Stenza, even the mighty P’Ting. What are you so afraid of.”

“Whatever can take my TARDIS is a force that far outstrips those things. A force I don’t think I can stop.”

“Then let me help you.”

“You’d help me by being somewhere safe. Somewhere where you’re not in any danger.”

“It’s my choice, Doctor.”

“No Yaz,” the Doctor said suddenly, wheeling on her friend. “It’s mine. It was my choice to invite you on-board my ship. It was my choice to take you under my care. It was my choice to choose you over the TARDIS, and now we’re facing down who knows what, with no way of getting you to safety if things get bad, no way of protecting you.”

“No,” Yaz countered. “I knew the risks of travelling with you Doctor. I chose them, I can live with them. You’re not going to get rid of me that easy Doctor. So are you going to accept it, or are we just going to keep fighting about it?”

The Doctor glared mutinously at Yaz, before softening.

“No, you’re right. Sorry it’s just... The TARDIS has been there almost all my lives. My most trusted companion. Without it I feel so... helpless.”

“You’re not helpless,” Yaz said. “You’re the Doctor. You’ll solve this. I know you will.”

“Thank you,” whispered the Doctor, looking back at the sonic screwdriver on the bench, before putting it back in her pocket.

“So, about the butler,” Yaz said, nodding to the strange man.

“Oh yes,” the Doctor said. “Bit of a temporal anomaly, the technology that powers him won’t exist for another three thousand years, but he’s very useful.”

“Technology?”

“He’s a hard-light hologram, hard-wired directly into the house. He is the house, essentially, given a form we can interact with. I had the idea after meeting the TARDIS, long story, another time. He chose the form himself, by the way, really got into Downtown Abby while I was setting it up.”

“That’s a relief,” Yaz said, relieved that the Doctor knew what was going on, therefore it must be okay. “So what is this house?”

“It was a TARDIS,” the Doctor said. She saw the hope in Yaz’s eyes, and quickly squashed it. “It can’t fly, the central console was removed and turned into a bomb. It’s a husk of what it use to be. Time Lord technology, or the remnants of it. I left it here after the war.”

“Why New Zealand though?”

“Last place anyone thinks to look. In the grand history of Earth New Zealand tends to be not much of a player... well, not till 4352, but its conquest of the galaxy isn’t something we’re going to have to worry about any time soon.”

“So you hid the remains of a TARDIS in New Zealand as your summer home?”

“Like I said, I spend a lot of time on Earth, makes sense to have a few places for my companions to stay if I need to travel alone for a bit. Not everyone I’ve travelled with was from this planet you know.”

“I suppose it’s not all too bad,” Yaz said. “I presume this place has a phone. We could call Ryan and Graham to-”

“No,” the Doctor said, cutting Yaz off. “No,” she continued, after seeing Yaz’s shocked expression. “I have a rule. When a companion chooses to leave me, I don’t go back to them. Not unless they want me to. And even then, I try not to make a habit of it.”

“Why?”

“Saying goodbye to my friends once is hard enough. Having to do it multiple times... Let’s just say that when they think they’re ready to leave me behind, I make sure to run off to stop myself from doing anything... destructive.”

“Good thing I’m never leaving you then,” Yaz said playfully, though the Doctor didn’t reply. Instead she darted to a chest of drawers, leaving Yaz’s statement deliberately untouched.

“I know they’re around here somewhere,” she said, sorting through a pile of clothes, throwing scarves and jumpers to the ground.

“Aha!” she said excitedly, pulling out what looked like two wallets with straps attached to them. “Vortex manipulators,” she clarified. “Cheap and dirty space travel, I won’t lie, but a good way of getting around.”

“Around where?”

“Around the world,” the Doctor said. “I may be stuck on this planet, but I’m certainly not confining myself to just one city in one country. With these we can travel quick and easily. There’s just one question.”

“Oh?” said Yaz, as she put on her vortex manipulator.

The Doctor let out a grin, her regular self coming through in her enthusiasm.

“Where should we go first?”


	3. 2021 – 02 – 13

2021 – 02 – 13

It’d been a week of living in New Zealand, and Yaz had grown strangely accustomed to the routine of life. The kitchen, while stocked with all sorts of meats and plants from countless worlds, lacked that signature human touch. So, after yet another night of eating something Yaz couldn’t pronounce, she decided she’d make a proper Earth dinner.

It was just a shame that the supermarket was such a trek away, and somehow felt farther on the walk back. Especially so early in the morning, with the sun barely risen as she made her way back home.

With some careful juggling she managed to hold her groceries in one hand while opening the door to the house, still slightly unnerved by how it was so much bigger on the inside than it had the right to be.

“I got us dinner,” Yaz said to the empty living room, trudging towards the kitchen. Suddenly the device on her wrist beeped. She had only moments to see her vortex manipulator was displaying some readings before there was a flash of light.

She found herself standing in a bustling marketplace, a throng of people pushing past her in both directions. The groceries were knocked from her hands by careless passer-bys, the eggs and milk going flying, while the meat for the shepherds pie quickly disappearing into the crowd.

“Yaz,” said a familiar voice. Yaz spun to see a Chinese dragon staring her down. She leapt back in shock, earning several disgruntled comments from the people she fell into.

“Sorry,” said the voice, poking out from the dragon to reveal the Doctor. “Forgot I had it on.”

“Doctor, where are we?” Yaz asked in confusion, as she huddled close to the Doctor.

“Beijing,” the Doctor said. “It’s Chinese New Year, and I thought we could do with a bit of a celebration.”

“You could have warned me that you were about to teleport me here,” said Yaz, a bit miffed.

“I did leave a note,” the Doctor said. “And mentioned it several times. I’m surprised you didn’t hear me.”

“I was out shopping,” countered Yaz.

“Ah, must have just missed you then.”

“I was out for several hours.”

“Were you? Anyway, I thought we could do with a celebration. Year of the ox and all that.”

“Why are we really here Doctor?”

“To celebrate-” began the Doctor, but caught Yaz’s eye.

“Okay,” the Doctor said reluctantly. “Truth be told, I saw something when I was poking around on the dark web. A buyer claimed to have a crystal of unknown properties.”

“And you think it’s part of the TARDIS?” Yaz asked, sensing where it was going.

“Doesn’t hurt to check it out,” the Doctor replied. “Come on, it’s this way.” She took her friend by the hand and led her through the cheering crowds, as the countdown neared the end of the year.

The Doctor led her to a seemingly standard skyscraper, one of many littered around the city. Briskly she walked inside, Yaz in tow, already pulling out her psychic paper.

“I’m here for the auction,’ the Doctor said breezily, flashing her faked credentials at the receptionist.

“Ah, yes,” the receptionist said, checking over the reports on her computer. “I see you here... You left your booking late. And chose to come yourself, it seems.”

“Yeah, I’m training a new assistant,” said the Doctor, gesturing at Yaz. “Want to make sure she’s up to the challenge, isn’t going to embarrass me. Good trial run and all that.”

“Of course,” Yaz said, not missing a beat. “I can’t wait for you to show how I should perform future duties.”

“Top floor,” the receptionist said, as the elevator pinged open, right on cue. Yaz and the Doctor entered, Yaz noting the several suited men that had been milling around the area, hands hovering just next to their waist.

“What’s going on?” hissed Yaz, as the elevator doors closed.

“I had to convince them I was a big shot,” the Doctor whispered back. “The people being represented at this meeting aren’t exactly... law-abiding, if you get my drift.”

“We’re going to a criminal auction!” Yaz exclaimed, panic starting to set in.

“It’ll be fine,” the Doctor said. “We’ll go in, see what this crystal is, get out, and no one will be any the wiser.”

“Shouldn’t we call the cops or something?”

“These people are way above the cops’ pay grade. Most of the boys in blue are being paid to look the other way anyway.” She caught Yaz’s disgusted expression, and solemnly nodded.

“It’s not right,” the Doctor agreed. “But that’s reality for you. I wish I could wave a magic wand and fix it all, but right now we need to focus on getting the TARDIS back.”

Yaz said nothing. The Doctor had certainly changed in the last fortnight. Not having her TARDIS made her... more aloof, more distant, more unpredictable.

They didn’t have time to talk further, as the elevator doors opened to a lushly designed corridor. Two very large, very well-dressed men escorted the women to the conference woman, their massive size dwarfing their guests. Yaz could see that they were heavily armed, and had the swagger of someone who knew exactly how to use a weapon and with no qualms about who got in the way of a bullet.

The conference room was like any other, though the walls were lined with multiple Chinese artifacts. The window overlooked the Beijing skyline, the crowds below milling around like specks of dust in the air. Yaz glanced at a clock, it almost being three am. She remembered one of her friends telling her that the New Year didn’t start at midnight, but rather when the new moon appeared.

Around the glass table sat a range of businessmen, all wearing earpieces, all speaking into small microphones attached to their collars. Despite the TARDIS’ disappearance, Yaz could still understand them, and filed that away as a question she’d ask the Doctor about another time.

The Doctor gestured for Yaz to sit down at the only remaining chair, while she examined the artifacts on the wall. She palmed her screwdriver into her hand, making sure to cover the light with her fingers so not to draw attention.

The large doors at one end of the room swung open to reveal yet more guards, who quickly took up positions around the conference room, followed closely by a man who appeared to be in his seventies. Despite his age he still moved with a confidence of a man who seemed to still be in the prime of his life.

Yaz felt the Doctor squeezing her arm, having wandered back over when the doors had opened. It was a squeeze of fear, of tension. Yaz glanced a look at the Doctor, but her face was set, unreadable save for a small hint of panic in her eyes.

“Welcome,” said the old man, his voice booming throughout the room. “I’d wished to see you all in person, but I will settle for these middlemen in place of you cowards.”

There was an uncomfortable shuffling as the businessmen heard the displeasure of their master coming through the ear piece. The man at the front appeared not to notice, or if he did, showed no signs of caring.

“I brought you here under the pretence of auctioning off a rare, unearthly crystal,” the man continued. “I must admit, that was a necessarily lie.”

More shuffling from the businessmen, some wincing at the shouts in their ear. A few made up to leave, but found themselves politely but firmly sat down again.

“No, I have come to give you an offer,” the man said, nodding to one of his henchmen. The guard nodded, disappearing into the other room. “I’ve come to offer your continued survival.”

It didn’t take a genius to see just how much this bothered the businessmen’s employers, as she could practically hear the insults and curses being thrown out over the earpieces. The Doctor, however, remained oddly quiet, her eyes fixed on the man.

The henchman returned, a small box in one hand, a frightened man in the other. The man was clearly passed the point of struggling, but nevertheless was still looking for an exit. He was like a rat trapped in a cat den.

The main man took the box and opened it up, revealing a strange crystal that glowed with an unnatural blue. The Doctor gripped Yaz’s arm even harder, her face clearly struggling to stay composed.

“I found this crystal many years ago,” the man said, as he took it out of the box. The Doctor hissed in shock, before quickly falling silent to avoid having any further attention drawn upon her.

“It has... unique properties. One of which I’ll demonstrate now.” He nodded to the henchman, who grabbed the prisoner that had been dragged in and held him before the leader. A swift kick to the back of the legs brought him to his knees.

The leader placed both hands on the crystal and held it against the man’s head. Blue electricity crackled around them, causing some of the businessmen to shield their eyes. As quickly as the glow arrived it was gone again, the frightened captive seemingly unharmed. The leader nodded, as the frightened prisoner suddenly found himself free for the first time in months.

He slowly got up and made his way towards the door, waiting at any moment to be grabbed, but no one made any moves to stop him. The doorknob was just in reach, and although this was probably a trap, the prisoner felt hope well up inside of him.

“This man will die in ten seconds,” the leader said, with a confidence that no one doubted. The prisoner turned, eyes wide, frankly looking for where this death would come. No one was moving, there seemed to be no imminent threat, and yet...

“Three, two, one.”

At the utterance of that last syllable the man suddenly went stiff. His eyes rolled up in his head, his mouth let out one last scream, his leg buckled underneath him. He was dead before he’d even hit the ground.

“His time is now mine,” the man said. “His future’s life is now my future life. This is what I can offer you, ladies and gentlemen. Join me, and I can pass this gift onto you, give you the same immortality I enjoy. Oppose me, and you’ll find yourself ending up like that.”

“Who are you?” asked one of the businessmen, clearly encouraged by his employer to finally speak up.

The man chuckled, a laughter without any joy or love in it. A short, malicious chuckle that sent chills down Yaz’s spine.

“What do schools teach nowadays,” the man said, “when you don’t recognize the great Genghis Khan!”

Yaz glanced at the Doctor in shock, who caught her eye and gave the smallest of nods.

“Impossible,” said another businessman. “Genghis Khan died hundreds of years ago.”

“That’s the most common story, yes,” agreed Khan. “But as I have just proven, time no longer has any meaning for me.”

“I don’t buy it,” said another businessman, though whether it was a personal belief or his employer’s was not clear. “This is all some sort of fancy scam, a pretty light show and a man who was no doubt already poisoned. I won’t be won over with cheap effects.”

Yaz was about to say something, but the Doctor stopped her. It was clear she wanted to see how this would play out.

Genghis Khan sighed, before going to the wall and taking down an ornamental sword. He walked over to the businessman, who tried to go back, only to find himself being boxed in by a few of the guards.

“There’s always one,” said Khan, handing the sword to the businessman and stepping back. The businessman held the sword out in confusion, his employer telling him to strike, his survival instincts telling him to drop the sword.

It didn’t matter either way. Khan let out a smile and stepped forward, the blade piercing his flesh. Everyone stood up in shock, backing away from Khan and the unfortunate businessman. Even Yaz found herself getting up, being pulled along by the Doctor.

Khan stepped back, the hole in his chest already healing rapidly. The businessman dropped the sword to the floor, the blade clean. Khan leaned down and picked it up.

“Of course, it could still be a trick,” Khan said, turning away from the businessman to hold the blade up. In a moment he spun and struck, the blade going through the businessman and into the chair behind him. Yaz turned away in disgust as the businessman slumped down.

“I hope that settles the matter,” Khan said, returning to the head of the table. “You cannot stop me, and my army can crush yours. I’ll expect you all to join me next year, which is in, ooh...” he glanced at his watch. “In a few minutes.”

Yaz looked back at the dead man, before being away that she was slowly being maneuvered by the Doctor to stand closer to the window.

“But let’s end this year on a happy note,” Khan said brightly, before locking his eyes on the Doctor and Yaz. “By, for example, getting rid of some old enemies.”

“So you do recognize me,” the Doctor said. “I was starting to think you’d forgotten.”

“And I’m starting to think that your escape was more by chance than skill,” Khan replied. “I’ve had a long time to learn about you, Doctor. To hunt you down. Little did I realize that you’d willingly come to me.”

“Well what can I say. Strange crystal, mysterious auction, caught my fancy. Though what you’re doing with a chunk of anti-time I do not know. I do know, however, that you need to give it to me. Right now.”

“Why would I do that?” Khan asked with a laugh.

“Because a substance that dangerous could easily destroy this entire planet. And I don’t think you’ll want to rule over an ash heap.”

“I have controlled the crystal for many centuries, Doctor. I can harness its power.”

“You think you can harness it. But you don’t really understand what you have there Khan. Give it to me, now, and I promise I’ll leave you in peace.”

“You think you can threaten me?” Khan replied, another laugh following his statement, a laugh as cruel and vicious as his historical deeds. “What do you think you can do against me?”

“Well,” said the Doctor. “I was thinking of doing something like this.”

Several things happened in quick succession, Yaz barely having a chance to comprehend them all. In one moment, the lights in the room went out. Another moment, a collection of firecrackers were thrown about the room, the bright light disorientating everyone. A third moment, the big glass windows that overlooked the city were shattered by a wave of sonic energy. And the fourth moment...

“Doctor!” screamed Yaz, as she and her friend plummeted towards the ground. The Doctor said nothing, pressing buttons on her vortex manipulator, seemingly oblivious to the ground rushing up towards the two of them.

The ground was close, almost painfully so, and Yaz was futility bracing her body for the impact when there was a flash of light, and a sudden splash of water. She felt the wind get knocked out of her as water flooded into her mouth, her body screaming at her to do something, anything. She was briefly aware of the Doctor swimming next to her, grabbing her and pulling her up to the light, as everything faded to black.


End file.
